Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Invests $8.53 Million in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 137,402 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,530,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.50% of Stewart Information Services at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Stewart Information Services by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,922,385 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $125,070,000 after purchasing an additional 15,910 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 919,708 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $57,095,000 after buying an additional 29,864 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in Stewart Information Services by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 780,128 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $50,755,000 after acquiring an additional 74,351 shares during the period. Tributary Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Stewart Information Services by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 330,977 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,547,000 after acquiring an additional 984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Stewart Information Services by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 114,933 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,336 shares during the period. 96.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Stewart Information Services Trading Down 1.0 %

Stewart Information Services stock opened at $74.85 on Friday. Stewart Information Services Co. has a 1 year low of $38.40 and a 1 year high of $76.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $71.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.68. The firm has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.24 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $602.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $597.00 million. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 5.16% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Stewart Information Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is 131.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO David C. Hisey sold 12,649 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.27, for a total transaction of $876,196.23. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 55,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,873,370.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on STC. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Stewart Information Services from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research upped their target price on Stewart Information Services from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd.

Stewart Information Services Profile

Stewart Information Services Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides title insurance and real estate transaction related services in the United States and internationally. The company involves in searching, examining, closing, and insuring the condition of the title to real property. It also offers home and personal insurance services; services for tax-deferred exchanges; and digital customer engagement platform services.